Sale Of Video Games Research Articles

Forecasts of Video Game Sales based on the ARIMA Model

Abstract. With the rapid development of the digital age, video games have become an important component of the cultural industry, and their sales forecasting has become a focus of industry attention. This article aims to predict the sales of video games based on the ARIMA model and explore effective methods to improve prediction accuracy. Through in-depth research, this article found that the ARIMA model performs well in capturing the time series characteristics of sales data and can accurately predict future sales trends. The ARIMA model provides a systematic and scientific method for predicting the future market performance of video games by comprehensively considering the trends, seasonality, and random changes in historical sales data. This research achievement not only provides strong decision support for game developers, publishers, and platform operators but also promotes the optimization of resource allocation and market risk avoidance in the video games industry, which is of great significance for promoting the healthy and sustainable development of the industry.

Research on the Prediction on the Sales of Electronic Games

This essay's primary goal is to predict and analyze the sales characteristics of electronic games based on different features, including but not limited to release time, ranking, publisher, and game genre. The methods employed in this paper include a neural network architecture where the activation function is ReLU , XGBoost model, and LightGBM model. Through experiments, this paper effectively constructs machine learning models using these three methods to predict video game sales. Furthermore, the performance of these three methods is compared and analyzed using three evaluation metrics: root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and mean squared error (MSE). And the prediction error of each model is plotted as a related line chart to visually show the details of the three methods in analyzing this problem. Finally, by comparing the experimental results of these three methods in the field of electronic game sales prediction, this article analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of neural networks, XGBoost, and LightGBM in related problem analysis, providing readers with reference and reference.

Evaluating Linear and Non-Linear Regression Techniques for Video Game Sales Prediction

The video game industry is a multi-billion dollar sector that thrives on data-driven decision-making. Accurate sales predictions can significantly impact marketing strategies and inventory management. This research evaluates various machine learning models to predict video game sales using a dataset sourced from Kaggle. We preprocessed the data, engineered features, and tested multiple regression models, including Linear Regression and Support Vector Machines. The results indicate that Linear Regression achieved an R2 score of 0.83, demonstrating its effectiveness in predicting game sales based on features such as platform, developer, rating, and publisher.

Sales effect of a software product series’ length in Japan

Abstract Previous studies have examined changes in software sales using the network effect theory framework based on hardware sales. This study aims to examine the effects of a software series’ length on software sales. We also investigate the moderating effects of how a platform’s life cycle influences the series’ sales. We adopted the double-jeopardy theory and brand loyalty discussions for both products and corporations. To test our hypotheses, we analysed 11,863 video game software samples in the Japanese market, addressing the following research questions: How does the length of a software series influence sales in terms of both the product and the corporate brand? How is the influence of the software series’ length on sales moderated by the stage of the platform’s lifecycle? Our findings show that a longer software series led to higher software sales for both the specific series as well as other software released simultaneously by the company. Moreover, we found that the positive relationship between the video game series’ length and sales of all the firm’s software was stronger when the platform had matured. By examining firm behaviours, such as software series releases and their effects, we confirmed that software series’ length is a core factor stimulating its sales and that of other series produced by a company. We also examined the impact of a platform’s lifecycle on video game sales. Our study contributes to the field by extending the literature on the effect of brand loyalty and the double-jeopardy theory.

How to Sell a Video Game? Analyzing the Drivers of Successful Video Game Sales

How to Sell a Video Game? Analyzing the Drivers of Successful Video Game Sales

Predictive competitive intelligence with prerelease online search traffic

In today's competitive market environment, it is vital for companies to gain insight about competitors' new product launches. Past studies have demonstrated the predictive value of prerelease online search traffic (PROST) for new product forecasting. Relying on these findings and the public availability of PROST, we investigate its usefulness for estimating sales of competing products. We propose a model for predicting the success of competitors' product launches, based on own past product sales data and competitor's prerelease Google Trends. We find that PROST increases predictive accuracy by more than 18% compared to models that only use internally available sales data and product characteristics of video game sales. We conclude that this inexpensive source of competitive intelligence can be helpful when managing the marketing mix and planning new product releases.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Video Game Narratives: Pandemic Themes in Covid Times

This article explores the relationship between Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and its influence on video game narratives. Video game sales have increased significantly since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The influence of Stoker’s Dracula and the narratives of vampire and pandemic video games is important, since some popular games are explicitly centred around pandemics and vampires, and are being played during the Covid-19 pandemic. The article explores the historical connection between epidemics and the vampire myth, and how that influenced the narrative of Dracula, especially the connection between the influence of cholera and his upbringing in Ireland. It then examines how the narrative has been influential in video game narratives. Finally, the article touches on how video games with pandemic themes may be used by a player to find a sense of control, explore difficult narratives in a structured environment, and explore various points of view and catharsis.

ANALISIS BIG DATA PENJUALAN VIDEO GAMES MENGUNAKAN EDA

Advertising is a very effective way for product marketing, this method is often used to disseminate product information to be marketed. Errors in the analysis of products to be marketed resulted in significant losses to the company due to errors in the exploration of Big Data processing. Big data is described as large-scale data that can be presented, processed and analyzed using existing technologies, methods and theories. Therefore, an assessment of the big data of video game operators that is in demand by the market is carried out to determine the highest and lowest sales of video games using the Exploratory Data Analysis method so that a company can determine the games to be promoted and produced. The results obtained in this study that have the highest and lowest sales of video games in the global market by genre are action at 1745.27 and strategy at 174.5. And for sales by platform, PS2 is 1255.64 and PCFX is 0.03. With this method, video game sales can be presented graphically, making it easier for companies to determine which games to market and promote small game sales.

The Effect of YouTube Reviews on Video Game Sales

Purpose—This study examines the effects of consumer engagement behaviour towards game reviews posted on YouTube on video game sales. Design/methodology/approach— An empirical research was conducted after analyses of 140 YouTube reviews about top games selected from the video games titles released within 2010-2019. The impacts of social media engagement activities (total views, the ratio of likes/dislikes to total views, review sentiment) of YouTube reviews, consumer and critic reviews on games sales were investigated with ordinary least square (OLS) regression model. Findings—The findings indicated that consumer engagement behaviour of YouTube reviews significantly influenced sales; however, the effect is not larger than critics’ and consumers’ text reviews. Consumer reviews have the highest positive impact on sales. YouTube review sentiment did not influence sales and YouTube reviews posted by an influencer (i.e., user) compared to a firm (i.e., marketing generated) did not have higher sales. Discussion— The results draw attention to the importance of engaging video game reviews on YouTube and consumers’ and critics’ online textual reviews for video games sales. This research contributes three streams of research: Digital word of mouth, consumer engagement behaviour on social media and predicting video game sales. The contribution is to indicate the predictive power of engagement of YouTube game reviews on game sales, to compare reviewer type (user/influencer - versus firm-generated) and to compare the effectiveness of video reviews to textual critic and consumer reviews.

IMPACT OF THE COVID - 19 PANDEMIC ON THE GLOBAL VIDEO GAMES MARKET

The article focuses on the analysis of the global video game industry. The structure of the gaming industry, which includes manufacturers from around the world, is considered. The study showed the controversial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global video game industry. The units of the global video games industry affected by the introduction of quarantine measures and self-isolation have been highlighted: cancelation or postponement of the events to 2021. Among the positive changes are the following: increased sales of video games, an increase in the number of users and the number of hours of online games. During the research, general scientific methods were used: analysis, synthesis, classification, historical method. The quantitative method was used to analyze the dynamics of economic indicators of the global video game market. The graphical presentation made it possible to visualize the obtained data. The source of information during the research was monographs and articles of foreign and domestic scientists; data from analytical agencies in the field of video games in the world; Internet resources specializing in market analysis and consumer behavior; analytical data of the World Economic Forum, etc. The scientific novelty of the study consists in a comprehensive analysis of the gaming industry, which has not been conducted before, in the unprecedented conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Positive Side of Violent Video Game Play

The exploration of the potential link between aggression and violent video game play has been extended to violent video game play as a precursor to violent crime. If violent video game play does increase aggression in players, that does not translate into real-world violence or violent crime. There is no single criminogenic risk factor that causes someone to commit violent criminal acts, so the idea that violent video game play causes players to commit a crime, through desensitization or otherwise, is not plausible. Therefore, this paper discusses if violent video game play is a contributing factor for an individual to participate in violent crime. The conclusion is that violent video game play and violent crime exist in a negative correlation to one another. Crime data compared to video game sales, implying higher video game play rates, shows a decrease in property and violent crime in areas where violent video game play is increased. This outcome may be explained by more time spent in the home playing video games via Routine Activities Theory as well as the presence of a catharsis effect. Since violent video game play contributes to lower crime rates, this may produce lower social costs for society as well as a heightened feeling of safety in impacted areas. Future research in this area includes violent video game play and violent crime studies conducted with a broader range of participants with various demographics, as well as the long-term effects of violent video game play on players.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

A new study by researchers at Oxford University found that playing video games can actually be good for mental health, 69 News reported Nov. 17. It was published as video game sales are booming this year because more people are stuck at home during this pandemic, and a lot of countries have once again imposed limits on public life. The paper was based on survey responses from more than 3,000 people who played two games: Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The study used data provided by game makers Electronic Arts and Nintendo on how much time participants spent playing. The researchers say they found the actual amount of time spent playing was a small but significant positive factor in people's well‐being. The study says the level of enjoyment players get from a game could be a more important factor for their well‐being than mere playing time. The results could cast doubt on long‐held assumptions that gaming causes aggression or addiction.

Hybrid system for video game recommendation based on implicit ratings and social networks

The digital entertainment sector is one of the fastest growing in recent years. In the case of video games, the productions of some of the most popular titles are on a par with film productions. The sale of video games is in the millions, and yet there are few works on the recommendation of video games. In this work a hybrid system of video game recommendation is presented, through the use of collaborative filtering and content-based filtering, and the construction of relationship graphs. In order to improve the recommendations, a new method for estimating implicit ratings is proposed that takes into account the hours of play. The proposed recommender system improves the results of other techniques presented in the state of the art.

Going Backward to Move Forward? The Effects of Backward Compatibility on the Sales of Previous and New Generation Console Video Games

In several product categories, such as electronics, video games, computer hardware and software, and other hi-tech products, backward compatibility--the property of a current generation of hardware to allow previous generation of software or accessory to work with it--is an important strategic decision for firms introducing hardware upgrades. We empirically investigate the effect of Microsoft Xbox’s decision to make its new generation console (NGC, Xbox One) backward compatible with selected games for its previous generation console (PGC, Xbox 360) on the sales of video games for both PGC and NGC. We assemble a unique dataset containing aggregate and individual data from a large proprietary game retailer and data scraped from gaming websites during 2013-2017. We analyze the effects of backward compatibility using a difference-in-differences approach and appropriate synthetic control methods. Our results show that when a video game console firm makes its NGC compatible with some PGC games, the average unit sales of backward compatible PGC games decrease relative to non-backward compatible PGC games. However, the dollar sales of backward compatible PGC games increase relative to non-backward compatible PGC games due to a relative price increase effect. The effects are heterogeneous across games; unlike low-selling games, high-selling games experience disproportionately large revenue lifts. Interestingly, the results also show that the sales (units and dollars) of NGC games increase due to a spillover effect, driven by console upgrades and enhanced budget for new games for the previous owners of backward compatible games. Based on our results, managers should consider high-selling games, games for general audience, action games, and those with high user ratings as the primary candidates for backward compatibility.

Video Game Habits & COVID-19

By mid-March 2020 and like most companies in the US, big and small video game developers had started implementing work-from-home policies to ensure the safety of its employees. Ad-hoc policies to take hardware assets out of the office, guidelines to maintain communication between teams or strategies to manage personal stress were not enough to avoid product delays of highly anticipated releases such as Final Fantasy XV, Cyberpunk 2077 or the second installment of The Last of Us. Cancelled staple events like E3 2020 or the Mobile World Congress and fully online esports events added to the disruption, but not all was bad news for developers and distributors. Quarterly sales of video games soared and set records in all platforms. In addition, gaming communities around the world were exposed to school closures, remote work, furloughs, layoffs, and lockdown. What were the direct implications and general impact on gamers? How did their habits change?In this paper, we conduct a survey directed at gamers of different demographics and we examine their shift in motivations and in how they are approaching gaming differently—or similarly—as a result of the pandemic.

Estimating the Market Potential with Pre-Release Buzz

With increased competition and shorter product life-cycles, forecasting the life-cycle sales of new products prior to launch is becoming increasingly important to marketers and demand planners. Our study contributes to the literature on new product adoption using analogies by augmenting information from previous generations with pre-release search traffic. In contrast to existing research, which relies on pre-release buzz information only for the launch phase, we consider life-cycle sales. First, we propose a model of pre-release buzz and market potential, establishing the connection between the two. Then, we validate this relationship with an empirical experiment on sequential video game sales. Our finding support that pre-release buzz contains predictive information up to 17 weeks prior to release and can increase life-cycle sales forecast accuracy up to 20%. The explanatory power of pre-release buzz varies across product generations. This evolution opens up marketing opportunities and highlights why it is important to manage pre-release buzz.

Empirical Analysis on Sales of Video Games: A Data Mining Approach

This paper studies factors that make the sales of video games becomes a blockbuster. The dataset used is collected from an online database maintained by VGChartz.com. Using the dataset, the Rapid Miner tool is used to select the features or factors and produce efficient estimation of the data. The techniques used in this project included the k-Nearest Neighbour (k-NN), Random Forest and Decision Tree. The factors and differences in the results are deliberated and discussed.

Evaluating the use of internet search volumes for time series modeling of sales in the video game industry

Internet search volumes have been successfully adopted for time series analysis of different phenomena. This empirical paper evaluates the feasibility of search volumes in modeling of weekly video game sales. Building on the theoretical concepts of product life cycle, diffusion, and electronic word-of-mouth advertisement, the empirical analysis concentrates on the hypothesized Granger causality between sales and search volumes. By using a bivariate vector autoregression model with a dataset of nearly a hundred video games, only a few games exhibit such causality to either direction. When correlations are present, these rather occur instantaneously; the current weekly amount of sales tends to mirror the current weekly amount of searches. According to the results, search volumes contribute only a limited additional statistical power for forecasting, however. Besides this statistical limitation, the presented evaluation reveals a number of other limitations for use in practical marketing and advertisement foresight. Internet search volumes continue to provide a valuable empirical instrument, but the value should not be exaggerated for time series modeling of video game sales.

Not all digital word of mouth is created equal: Understanding the respective impact of consumer reviews and microblogs on new product success

The expansion of the Internet and social media have triggered a differentiation of the word-of-mouth (WOM) concept, with consumer communication about brands and products now taking place in various settings and forms. Two important digital WOM types are microblogs and consumer reviews. To clarify their differential roles for product success, this study offers a theoretical framework of the influence of these two types of WOM, drawing from consumer information search theory and diffusion theory. The tests of the proposed framework use a longitudinal data set of video game sales and weekly information gathered from microblogs (i.e., over 13 million tweets from Twitter) and consumer reviews (i.e., more than 17,000 Amazon consumer reviews). Analyzing a system of equations provides evidence that the influence of microblogs and consumer reviews on new product success changes over time. Prior to launch, the volumes of microblogs and consumer reviews, together with advertising, represent primary sales drivers. After launch, the volume of microblogs is initially influential, then loses impact, whereas the impact of the volume of consumer reviews continues to grow. The valence of consumer reviews gains significance only near the end of the observation period, but the valence of microblogging is never influential.

A new approach in mobile gaming on cloud-based architecture using Citrix and VMware technologies

Without doubt the lure of high resolution videos along with a deeply engaging user interface is an irresistible attraction for almost all gamers across the world. Sales of video games are projected to cross more than US$ 110 billion in the coming years. With Internet speeds in certain countries climbing into the 3G, and the newer 4G, spectrums, multi-gaming sessions have found rising number of followers all across the globe. However, a sizeable chunk of the gaming community does not have a sustained access to high speed network. Our paper proposes a game manager which harnesses commercially available virtualization applications to offer the best game streaming experience anywhere in the world. We discuss a model which would allow users requesting multi-player game sessions to be played over the Internet, to connect to the appropriate game cloud for the fastest possible game streaming experience. End users would be able to play their favourite games connected over the Internet without having to worry about extensive hardware requirements.